CHARLOTTE — While it’s getting warmer outside, people are going to the pools more, but experts are warning parents to make sure their children are safe when swimming.
This past Memorial Day weekend, three children died by drowning. Two children passed away after drowning at a backyard pool in Gaston County on Sunday, and the York County Coroner’s Office confirmed that a 4-year-old girl drowned Saturday in a pool in Clover.
Janice Williams, a coordinator with Safe Kids Charlotte-Mecklenburg, says she’s had countless discussions about swimming dangers, especially for younger kids.
“Everybody is drawn to water, adults, children. It just is something that pulls us to it. Unfortunately, water has a potential for a bad outcome,” Williams told Channel 9′s Almiya White on Tuesday.
Williams said drowning is the leading fatal outcome for small children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning rates for children younger than 4 have increased by nearly 30% since 2019.
“If we get some word out, we can prevent some people from having especially the most severe life-altering things that can happen,” Williams said.
Swimming lessons can be taught as early as age four, but swim lessons aren’t a safeguard against drowning and shouldn’t replace supervision.
“It has to be touch supervision, so I have to be within an arm’s length of you so that when something happens, I can immediately put my hands on you for protection,” Williams said.
Williams also recommends wearing a bright-colored life vest.
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